Control of Schizophyllum commune and Ophiostoma piliferum growth in wood by solarization

Solarization, or solar heating, was applied to pine and beach logs to contr ol the blue staining caused by Ophiostoma piliferun (Fr.: Fr.) Wint and sap wood rot caused by Schizophyllum commune Fr.. During the three year experim ents solarization caused a significant increase of the temperature inside t he logs pile with highest values at the top, where T-m, T-max and T-min wer e 9.5, 11.2, and 6 degrees C higher than at the base. The treatments also c aused a loss in wood moisture ranging from 15 to 17% in beech and 11 to 23% in pine. In 1994 and 1995 solarization eradicated O. piliferum from more t han 90% of pine logs and strongly reduced the infestation at the bottom of the pile. In 1996 it eradicated the fungus completely. Instead solarization bad little effect on colonization by S. commune, the positive isolates bei ng reduced by only 16 to 28%. Laboratory trials carried out to determine th e thermal threshold for mycelium growth in Petri dishes and death in wood w ere in agreement with field experiments.